ShikaTema Super Short One-Shots
by Hot Mess 12
Summary: Since I have been uninspired to do long song-based stories, I began writing ShikaTema one-shots off of story starter prompts. Keep in mind most of these stories are the length of an index card. Enjoy!
1. That's it?

"You can't be serious. That's it?"

Shikamaru shrugged at his child, "That's it."

As his son looked curiously at him, Shikamaru smiled at the teal eyes looking back at him. They were a mirror image of Temari's. "We didn't have a whirlwind romance." He sighed, "If you haven't noticed your mother can be a little scary sometimes."

Shikadai agreed, "That's an understatement."

As Shikamaru drank water while moving his piece of the board, he continued, "But there are flashes of kindness that make your mother worth the trouble."

Shikadai nodded as he accepted the check mate in their game once again. His father was brilliant but simple, and so his answer reflected that. He accepted both of his defeats as he got up, "I'm going go help mom."

Shikamaru sat, still looking at the board in front of him. He shouldn't have been shocked at his own response. He never thought that he would reply with a generic answer, replicating his father's own retorts that had once been directed at him. Temari really did win him over by the combination of her harshness and kindness, but how could he possibly explain the complexities of their relationship to his naive son?

Temari continued to cook as she sheepishly responded to her son's incessant questioning, "I don't see why you'd even want to know."

The young boy sighed, exhausted by his parent's necessary opposition to answering him, "Dad said the same thing."

He focused in on his mother's facial movements combatively. She lost the spark in her eyes, and it was replaced with a look that Shikadai could only guess with a reflection of a hint of hurt.

Temari turned to tend to her family's meal, "Oh, did he now?"

Shikadai continued, unfazed by her mood's abrupt shift. After all, he was accustomed to it by now. "Then if nothing is so special about you two being together, why'd you even agree to get married in the first place?"

Temari sighed, :This won't end until you get an answer right?"

Shikadai sheepishly nodded, waiting impatiently for a more thorough answer than his father would ever give. As he did so, Temari gleefully acknowledged the little mannerisms of hers that she saw in her son. Temari took the stew off of the stove top, and poured it carefully into the three bowls beside it on the counter. Personally, the stew reminded her of Suna and her mother. She prepared it directly from her mother's recipe book that Kankuro and found and given to her as a wedding gift.

Shikadai cleared his throat, jolting Temari back into the moment at hand, "Well, you already know that we met during a chunnin exam and that Suna and Konoha became allies that day as well."

Shikadai smiled warmly at Temari as she handed him the bowl. "Sure, but that doesn't explain how you fell in love."

Temari quickly corrected, "I wouldn't exactly use the word fell. It was a gradual gravitation to each other. I saved him, and I saved him more."

As Shikadai swallowed a mouthful of his favorite Suna dish, he interjected, "But when did you know that he was the one you wanted to be with? Especially since you'd have to move away from Suna. What made dad worth it?"

"Honestly," Temari pondered, "We are each other's equals, and you can't find that in just anyone. So that makes him worth the trouble."

She smiled as she changed the subject, "Now eat up and then go finish your academy homework."

To avoid her sudden wrath, Shikadai did as he was told, quickly finishing his dinner and heading to his room.

Temari finished cooking Shikamaru's favorite vegetables and added them into his portion of the stew. As much as she loved all of the desert spices, he liked a splash of Konohan flavors. So she compromised. She took the two remaining bowls and headed for the room with her husband.

As she entered it, she saw her husband looking at the clouds as the sun set. She set the food down next to him and looked over at him intently. "It's been awhile since you could enjoy the clouds, huh?"

He chuckled as he nodded, "Been too busy to enjoy them, I guess."

His grin was jovial, and Temari took a sip of the stew before reacting, "You heard me talking to Shikadai, didn't you?"

He took a huge sip of stew and swallowed it before responding confidentially, "You really think we are equals, don't you?" Shikamaru smirked at his aggravated wife. "To be honest, I don't think we are even close."

Fuming, Temari angerily lashed out at him, "I have proven myself time and time again. Admit it! You wouldn't even be alive if it wasn't for me. Saving your ass was a routine for me during the war."

Laughing, Shikamaru tried to calm his wife, "Precisely why you are better than me."

Momentarily stunned at his response, Temari remained quiet as he continued, "I couldn't explain to the kid how love works. Not when I can't explain why you love me."

As Temari spoke up, she spotted Shikadai listening into their conversation, "It's simple. You think too much. Love isn't something we could ever rationalize. I imagine that he'll be in our shoes someday,"

Shikamaru sighed in relief as he watched the clouds disappear along with the sun, "I'd like to see that."


	2. If she was in the woods with a wolf

If she was in the woods with a wolf, the wolf would run. Her scowl alone would terrify grown men. She was powerful, and because of that power, she became ruthless. Her stares and glares could rip your soul in two, if her fan's gusts didn't do that first. She was fearless, and she always knew what sacrifices needed to be made in order to win.

A wolf would never stand a chance against her. If a wolf was smart, it would never cross her path.

And yet, her blush was so gentle, and her playful words brought color to his own cheeks. He was attracted to her lovely passion and more so, those negative characteristics that saved him time after time. She never scared him away because he knew she could handle herself and manage to help him out too. So he concluded that he was braver than a wolf.


	3. Three Things I Could Never Tell You

**Three things he could never tell her:**

1\. Despite her brutal disposition, she was the sweetest and most thoughtful person he had ever met. For every cruel action she took, there was a kind act to replace it. It was that perfect balance that he adored.

2\. Over the years, her smile occasionally showed up in his dreams. Even three days apart, she still made her presence known. That overwhelming attitude of hers secretly kept him motivated.

3\. He didn't have a favorite color until he got a good look at her eyes for the first time. In that moment, he settled on teal. He refused to tell her that because he would never live it down.

 **Three things she could never tell him:**

1\. He was smarter than she was. Although they were both brilliant in their own areas of expertise, he was the head advisor for a reason. But for every smart plan he came up with, there was a lazy nap to accompany it. It was a perfect balance she adored.

2\. Over the years, she started to watch the clouds and think of him. Even three days apart, he managed to make her lazy and unproductive. That laid-back attitude of his secretly kept her sane.

3\. The reason she never played shoji with him was because she had never learned how to play. She would always just say it was an "old man's game" and change the subject. She knew that if she told him, she would never hear the end of it.


	4. A Pretty Face with a Dark Soul

As she got older, she got prettier. She went from a rebellious girl in ripped fishnets to a woman who hid them under long kimonos. Her rigid facial expressions softened towards him over the years, but he still saw his share of her wrath.

She was a pretty face with a darkened soul.

Behind all of her refinement hid a tinge of pain and guilt that he understood perfectly. While he hid it behind his laziness, she covered her darkness up by incessant rage.

Morality was their common ground.

()

He silenced her loneliness and understood why her soul was so tainted. That was why she always saved her brightest smile for him. It was a familiarity she had grown fond of, and when she saw him smile back, some of the darkness melted away.

She was a pretty face with a dark soul, but it was fine as long as he still smiled occasionally.


	5. This wasn't my choice

Though I guess falling in love never is a choice. Still, you can choose to ignore all of the signs. For instance, how our conversations never dulled and how he actually knew me as something more than just a cruel shinobi from the Sand. He matched my wits with his intelligence and evened out my coldness with his warm presence.

In our younger days, I always pictured us as rivals, not love interests. But as our encounters became more frequent, I considered him my friend. He was someone I truly valued. I didn't think much about it until he lied to my face at the meeting. Heat rose from within me like it never had before, and the contact of his skin on mine felt so foreign. For the first time in our friendship, I was the crybaby.

The realization of it all set in when Ino and Choji asked for my help to bring him back home. This wasn't my choice, but I did choose to save him.

And I did choose to accept my fate.


	6. I had that dream again

It was the dream about losing her through no fault of my own but because of her own accord. She always thinks she is completely untouchable, and in this nightmare, that mentality got her killed in the quickest way possible: a slit to the throat. Every single time I wake up, I cry harder than I have the time before. She is right: I am a crybaby.

Every time he woke up in a cold sweat, his wife reached for a clean washcloth that she placed on her nightstand and wiped the perspiration off his forehead. She would kiss his forehead and force him to collapse into her arms as she ran her fingers through his hair.

They had an unspoken promise that they saw each other in their weakest moments and kept it between them. They kept it a secret never to see the world outside their bedroom. It was for that reason, and many others, that he would have that vivid dream again

But it was also why he would wake up with her by his side.


	7. The reason I am afraid of my own shadow

I don't like being controlled by anyone. That is apparent in the way I am tough and indestructible. So because of a stupid leaf shinobi, I have an irrational fear of my shadow. As much as I know that he is the only one to use that particular ability, I still look behind me when I enter a battle. In some cases, that reflexive move has saved my life from surprise attacks.

Through all of my emotional training, I have been able to suppress my fears and push them into the recesses of my mind. Some nights they resurface and can't be explained away.

I still worry about being controlled by the shadows around me. More so, I am scared that one day I might be controlled emotionally by the same person who caused this irrational fear in the first place.


	8. I Screwed Up

I screwed up and fell in love with a sand nin. And not just any sand nin. It just had to be the princess of the sand.

It just had to be the cruelest one of them all.

Still, there was something about her smile that made my heart skip a beat. She was someone I didn't need to worry about because she could hold her own, and yet, I always made sure to stay close to her when the circumstances allowed it. Whether by chance or by choice, we gravitated towards each other. It was a mutual attraction we had grown accustomed to with neither of us acting on it.

As ambassadors to our home nations, the distance between us didn't feel so far away, and I screwed up. I let our conversations linger for too long and let the attraction to her grow too strong. Even now, I am replaying her slap to my face over in my head. My focus drifts to her and her smile.

I know what dad meant now.


	9. It's a Sign of the Times

Even in the familiarity of her company, Shikamaru could tell that things had changed between them. They weren't the children who saved each other to prove a point; they were the generals that led squads into battle. Separate, they experienced the growing pain that any Shinobi faced in wartime, but together, they found success.

Now that wartime broke into a wave of peace, Shikamaru found himself helplessly entranced by her sun-kissed complexion and windy presence. She didn't try to hide who she was, even if that meant being labeled as cruel and ruthless. And as much as she displayed those adjectives, there were rare moments of overwhelming kindness and careful affection that made drew him to being near her warmth.

Still, she would never put up with his crap.

At one point in his life, Shikamaru only wanted a simple wife who was average in every way. Now, he gripped Temari's calloused hand at the reception of a wedding, showcasing his desire to be with her forever. He acknowledged that what he wanted had changed and was glad to see her blush at his boldness.

It was definitely a sign of the times.


	10. Color of Pain Taste of Happiness

**Red**

As her heart's durability was forcefully being tested, that was the color she saw behind her blurred vision. Temari wanted to see blue or grey because it would have better reflected the emotions she had felt. However, she kept imagining the red roses after a heated argument and the heat of his breath against the back of her neck. And in the anger of her emotions, the color of pain was red.

 **Mint**

As their lips finally met, that was the flavor she tasted. Temari wanted him to taste like honeysuckle or bourbon because it would better represent what his kiss should have tasted like. However, she breathlessly reacted to the saliva on his tongue that was covered with speckles of the gum he had been chewing and the sweet sensation of freshness tickling her lips. And in the ecstasy of her bliss, the taste of happiness was mint.


	11. She was wrath personified

She was wrath personified. That's why when their child was born, Temari worried if she could muster up any maternal instincts. She already knew that Shikamaru would be a great father. He had shown that time and time again with Mirai and all of the genins that he watched grow up.

()

Shikamaru acknowledged that Temari was wrath personified, but that was not the only thing she was to him. She was passion and drive. She was kindness and humbleness. Most importantly, she was emotional.

Yet when Shikadai screamed at the top of his lungs for the very first time, they both shed tears.

()

When Temari held her newborn in her arms, the infant hushed, and she no longer saw herself as wrath personified anymore.


	12. Repulsed and Loved

The prompt is a long chapter title so I shortened it there: Describe the same character twice. Once to be repulsed by them and a second to fall ion love with them.

Enjoy :) -Hotmess 12

()

 **Repulsed**

First off, he's lazy. That, in itself, is enough to piss me off! But you mix that with the fact that he has so much potential, and I could just boil over with anger. He's a scrawny shrimp of a boy and just because he got lucky during the chunnin exams doesn't mean he's cut out to be a strong Shinobi leader like his father. I mean, he even wears fishnets as a shirt! Men and boys shouldn't wear them. It's so tacky. After saving his life, he could only give me a half-smirk. Talk about ungrateful! To top it all off, he's too soft! Who cries so openly like that? It's crazy how weak the Leaf Village has become. It's all too repulsive for me to handle.

 **Loved**

Wow. It's funny how when you find something like an old diary that was long-forgotten, you can't believe how different you are from the naive headstrong girl you once were. I often think of that lazy Shinobi nowadays, and I have become quite fond of his company. And if there is any indication of the aforementioned growth, that's my prime example. As much as I've grown, so has he.

Well, he got taller too actually. Shikamaru is no longer that thinly-framed boy who cried in the waiting room, and I looked down upon. We both faced challenges and crushing defeats that made us do unspeakable things. I trust him with all of my secrets, and I would like to thinks he feels the same way. We have saved each other on numerous accounts and our synchronized strategies escalated our mutual strengths in the heat of a battle.

By the way, if you style it right, fishnets can be sexy.

I think that, over the years, I learned to enjoy his company and missed him when we parted. His laziness became a staple of his presence, but his leadership blossomed when our villages needed it to the most. He isn't soft anymore: emotionally or physically. But I feel less cold-hearted every time we meet now. My face blushes a lot more now too. It's funny how someone who you couldn't stand the idea of becomes someone you couldn't live without.


	13. I was sent to destroy you

Looking back, it seems so fictitious: like a bad dream you have in the middle of the night. Still, I was sent to destroy your village, and I wanted to eliminate you in particular for how you embarrassed me. Though with the snap of two fingers, I had to help you survive that day. I regained my pride when I saved you, and I earned your attention and praise too.

Something compelled me to wait with you at the hospital that day, and I saw that the weight of this lifestyle was destroying you. In turn, I realized that I couldn't save you from yourself. It was an inner fight that every single Shinobi encountered in their journey, but in retrospect, your battle with choices had started so much earlier than mine or anyone else's. Destruction was a major part of fighting for your village.

But as you openly cried, I couldn't only look on as a spectator. I much as I wouldn't to say something to help you, I didn't have the right words.

That part destroyed me.


	14. I get why she chose you

Even if his sister was an overbearing witch of a woman, Kankuro still believed that Temari deserved happiness. As the years went by, it was also more appartent that she was happier when she came back from her visits to Konoha. For a few days after her return home, her brothers got to enjoy a softer side of Temari, and her smile was unusually warm and cheerful.

He had never questioned why until the siblings were older and visited Konoha together more frequently. They always saw Shikamaru, and that smile spread on her lips in between their playful banter. So it came as no surprise to Kankuro when they started officially dating.

From that point forward, her smile never left the corner of her lips. He never thought that she would like the brat that beat her at her own game, but Kankuro knew there was no one else who could challenge her to such capacities.

He got why she chose Shikamaru.


	15. I'm at the hospital

"I'm at the hospital, Temari."

"Why?"

She wanted to say she was blind-sided, but this was their chosen way of life. Hospital visits would be a regular occurence for her child. She had to learn to accept it as a fact.

Still she worried as any mother would. Although Shikadai was smart, not all of his missions were going to be successful. His parents experienced that lesson together and experienced multiple times.

Shikamaru's lazy tone eased her restlessness. He wouldn't stay so calm if Shikadai was seriously injured. After all of these years, Shikamaru was still compassionate and emotional when it came to the people he cared about. In a weird way, they both still were.

"Stop worrying before you even start. It's just a broken finger. He's gonna be fine."

She smirked as she spoke, "Let's just hope he doesn't cry about it."

She could almost hear the expression on his face through his exasperated sigh.

"You will never let that go."


	16. I came to kiss you goodbye

He caused her stomach to flutter when she saw him.

No one had ever told her that those flutters were a sign that she had a crush on him. Throughout the years, Temari slowly noticed that it was only happening around him. As he became a man, she slowly came to accept her feelings were not mutual. They would always just be good friends. They would move on and live separate lives with only brief interactions between them. Frozen moments in time that they would remember fondly but never act upon any differently than any other Shinobis would.

Temari concluded that was why they were called a "crush". It overcame you in one way or another. It would either crush your spirits or crush your loneliness.

That was why she began to avoid him whenever she was forced to visit Konoha, but he was intelligent and resourceful so they always ran into each other.

However, this particular trip they never crossed paths. She left early that morning to continue to slip away from his sight. Since he became a valued aide, she was accustomed to leaving without saying a goodbye. As the gates came into her view, her heart sank into the depths of her chest. There stood a grown Shikamaru, leaned up against the gates.

"Hey."

His voice was rough and yet, there were softness to it she could not quite place. But she knew where it stemmed from: he hadstayed up all night, overthinking something again.

She could only muster a few words to him. "Hi. I wasn't expecting to see you here. Why are you here?"

He smirked, "I'm not stupid, Temari. You've been avoiding me. Was the date that bad?"

She shook her head, not sure what to say. He lazily walked toward her and pecked her cheek.

"I came to kiss you goodbye."


	17. I'm a burden to you

"I'm just a burden to you!"

There it was. The real reason this trivial fight happened in the first place. When Temari started a fight, it was never because of the thing she said it was about. No, that was just the last straw.

Shikamaru sat down in his chair in the living room. He stopped yelling back at her and took a moment to breath. "We could have saved twenty minutes if you'd have said that first."

Shocked at his suddenly calm response, Temari quickly sat on the couch and lowered the volume of her voice back down to a reasonable level. "You didn't deny it."

He shook his head before speaking, "You act like you haven't been called troublesome since the day I met you."

She angrily frowned, "I left Suna to be with you, ya know. So for me to feel like this."

She took a brief pauae before continuing, trying to find ghe correct words, "It just isn't what I was expecting."

Shikamaru interjected, "I expected this. You are always nagging, and you can be cruel."

Before Temari could get a word in, which he knew she was trying to, he continued to make his point, "You might be a pain sometimes, but I like having you around."

He said it so plainly and honestly that Temari didn't realize she was smiling.


	18. Why do you have scars there?

He realized quickly that he had never seen any of his girlfriend's back before. Temari never had an issue showing skin, but her back had always been concealed. Unintentionally, he stared at the hasty branding that reflected the ones on her fan and tapered scars littering her back.

Shikamaru inquired about them, "Why do you have scars there?"

Hesitantly, Temari replied, "They aren't recent. They happened long before we even met. But some scars never fully heal, and this is just an example of old Suna's harsh methods of training."

She refused to look at him as he glided his fingers over her obvious disfigurements. With his free hand, he led one of her hands to the back of his thigh where a long scar snaked down to his knee.

"I get it. Some scars just don't match the emotional wound it left behind." He turned her around, "But that explains a lot."

Temari narrowed her eyes, "What do you mean?"

Shikamaru kissed her forehead and led her to his bed. "You had to be tough to survive. You didn't have the luxury of being soft and nurturing."

He paused as he kissed her neck, "But I can change that."


	19. So she cut her hair short

Her father loved when she wore her hair down. The sandy blonde locks mirrored her mother's perfectly.

She hated that. Temari was everything that her mother wasn't: bold, cruel, and ruthless. To avoid her father's input on her life, she put it up into four ponytails. It helped disguise how long it actually was. She kept it that way for years.

That was, until Shikamaru commented on it one day.

She was returning from the bathhouse, and they crossed paths as they always seemed to do. Offhandedly, he brought up that her hair was really nice down. To cover up her dismay, she wittingly said the same thing about his black locks. But that was the moment, Temari decided to cut her hair.

She understood that it was an impulsive decision when she saw the chunks of hair decorating her porcelain sink, and even more so, when she tried to make her signature look. She had to settle on two ponytails instead of four. She had no other option because she refused to leave it down, and a ponytail was common and unexciting.

The first time he saw her, she noted his puzzled glance at her.

She slyly spoke to him, "What is it, Nara?"

He shrugged. "You changed your hairstyle. It just got me thinking that you must have cut your hair."

Triumphantly, she grinned, "Got a problem with it?"

He shook his head, "Not at all."

Shikamaru smirked as he looked anywhere but at her, "Apparently, you look good in any hairdo."

Following his lead, she looked away from him. He liked her hair long so she cut it. But now that it was cut, he liked that too. In conclusion, did that mean that he liked _her_ no matter what her hair looked like?

She blushed at the thought.


	20. I'm not like you at all

I'm not like you at all, Shikamaru. I can't overanalyze my every option and make the best choice every time.I can't sit and watch clouds all day and drift away with them.

I am also fully aware that you do much more than that for Konoha, but if you are given a true choice in the matter, you would be on that perfect hill as I'm writing this to you.

But I guess I like that about you. For as unpredictable as you can be in a battle, you follow that same routine outside of one.

I'm not like you, but honestly, I don't care. There's some part of me that finds it intriguing and very much appealing. There has to be a reason why you cloud my thoughts and why I spend most of the time wondering when I will see you again. As silly as it sounds, sometimes I write letters you'll never see to relieve these overwhelming feelings. I can't always stay in control. I'm not like you.


	21. It came in the mail

It came in the mail, which was odd at best. Temari didn't write letters to me unless they had Gaara's official Kazekage seals and letterheads plastered on them. Even then, it was more of a formality than anything else.

So like I stated before, it was strange to see her neat handwriting address a letter to me.

I felt my stomach drop and twist as I unsealed the envelope surprisingly carefully. Normally that was troublesome, and I would just rip into it. However, this letter seemed like something to treasure, special even. And as always, Temari did not disappoint me.

As I read the last few lines, I noticed that as much as it was written about me, it wasn't written to me.

So to even the score, I decided to write a letter in response. I am not like her at all, but I do like her.


	22. What really matters to you

I'll be honest with you. You are the scariest person I have ever met. You even edge out my own mother in that way. You nag alot and you can be so intimidating that I'm sure even Gaara is afraid to get on your bad side.

But it is because of all of those traits that I can tell what really matters to you.

You care about trust and loyalty, and even though you didn't appreciate sentiments like compassion and empathy when we first met, I see you exhibiting them from time to time now.

Still, above everything else, you value family. I'm not sure if it's because you have very few blood ties, or if you've always been that way, but it's something that never waivers with you.

As much as we aren't alike, our core values are the exact same. In the end, I think that's all that really matters to me. I know that you didn't mean for me to see that letter, but I wrote this one for you to see.

You matter to me, Temari.


End file.
